Women with PCOS who have higher levels of male-type hormones tend to get stronger faster when they do weight training for 4 months—even if their body fat or muscle size doesn’t change much.

If women with or without PCOS do a 4-month strength training program, they’ll both get stronger—like being able to lift heavier weights on the bench press and leg machine.

If women—whether or not they have PCOS—do strength training for four months, they tend to lose body fat and have lower testosterone levels.

Women with PCOS who exercised regularly became fitter and had better blood sugar control, but didn’t lose weight or change their fat levels in the blood.

Women with PCOS who did 3 moderate workouts a week for 2 months became better at handling fat in their blood without losing weight — their muscles could use sugar more efficiently even when fat levels were high.

Exercise helps women with PCOS handle fat better and improves their insulin sensitivity, but even after training, their muscles still react more strongly to fat overload than healthy women who don’t exercise.